


Just a Game

by Yaoi_Girl



Category: Free!
Genre: Boys' Love, First Dates, Fluff, Holding Hands, M/M, Shounen-ai
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-12
Updated: 2013-10-05
Packaged: 2017-12-26 08:54:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/964023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yaoi_Girl/pseuds/Yaoi_Girl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nagisa had watched from the side all his life as his sisters played the game of cat and mouse with their boy toys. Not wanting to end his own game with Rei, his sisters talk to him and realize something different about the way he plays. The trio of sisters take it upon themselves to make a new game revolving around their dear little brother and his prey.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Just a Game

Nagisa had seen it time and time again with his sisters as he grew up.  And now he was even seeking their advice on the matter.

Every time one of his sisters found a boy to chase, he watched as an elaborate game of cat and mouse began until they either tired of the mouse or caught it but decided they didn’t want it.  Even now his sisters had yet to find someone steady.

And now he found himself in the same situation with Rei. 

The longest chase any of his sisters had was for three months, and it was nearing that time with Nagisa and Rei.  From there, he wasn’t sure what to do.  His sisters had always just abandoned the guys they were after and moved on to the next, mainly due to the fact that they found certain flaws or personality traits by that time that they didn’t care for.  But he wasn’t so sure that’s what he wanted.  And it wouldn’t be that simple with their arrangements as far as class and swim club.

He knew for a fact that he _really_ liked Rei and everything about him and wanted the game to continue.

As he sat at dinner that night, lazily poking at his favorite meal, two of his sisters took notice of their oddly behaving usually bottomless pit of a brother, the third out on a chase.  And so, after dinner, they cornered him in his room to talk.

“Nagisa…” one of the sisters said softly after he had explained his story, almost apologetically, as she glanced sidelong to her sister who was wearing an expression of sympathy similar to hers.  “You have to end the game as soon as you can.”

“I know!  I just…” he whimpered, burying his hands in his blonde locks as his head fell.  “I just don’t want to stop chasing him…”

“It’s just a game…” the other sister murmured, gently placing a hand on his knee, as they were seated on his floor facing each other.

“But there’s no one else for me to chase either!” he went on as though he hadn’t heard her, his hands finding their way from his hair to cover his eyes, his head shaking slowly.  “And I still haven’t actually caught him…and I’m not tired of him either.”

“If you let it drag on though, he’s only going to get his hopes up that you actually want to be in a relationship with him…”

His body immediately tensed and his eyes were wide as his hands fell limp beside him.

He had Rei wrapped around his little finger, he knew that much, and Rei dealt with his antics, no matter how embarrassing…Wasn’t that someone worth chasing?  Worth keeping?  And here he was just leading the other on…

“Nagisa,” one of them gasped, covering her mouth as realization dawned.  “You’re not in love, are you?”

His head slowly lifted, his eyes still wide and now looked panicked as they locked with his sister’s.

The two girls looked to each other with matching expressions once more, having a silent conversation before they turned their attention back to their little brother who remained silent.

“Are you?”

‘In love with Rei-chan?’ he thought to himself over and over as his sisters carried on without him, oblivious to what they were saying.  It was just supposed to be a simple game, but yet here he was, not wanting to let go of something he liked so much, someone that he had bonded with so deeply over the past couple months.

“Nagisa, how often do you two hang out?  In and out of school.”

His mouth opened and closed a few times before he licked his dry lips, finally blinking and coming back to reality.

“We’re in the same class and we sit next to each other.  Of course, there’s the swim club.  And outside…we usually meet up and walk to school and home together.”

“You don’t make side trips or hang out on the weekends just for fun?”

“Sometimes we stop and get ice cream or something sweet on the way home or we hang out if Mako-chan has something planned for all of us…There was the festival last week though.  I invited Rei-chan and the others that night, but we didn’t get to spend a lot of time together given certain circumstances…”

“Who pays when you go get ice cream?”

“Rei-chan usually does…but I think it’s mainly because he wants me to keep quiet…” he mumbled, feeling slightly disheartened now that this realization hit him, his left hand coming up and his fingers tangling in his shirt over his heart as his gaze fell once more to the floor.

His sisters watched carefully to their little brother’s every reaction and listened intently on everything he said, more so the way he worded things.

“I do need to end the game, huh?” he chuckled lowly as water began to well up in his eyes.  “Rei-chan must be pretty annoyed with me…I just keep dragging him along and…”

“Nagisa!” the younger barked, drawing his attention to her with a sharp inhale and fingers tightening in his shirt.  “Invite Rei out tomorrow night!”

“What?  Why?!  You just said…!”

“Never mind what we said!” the other sister cut in.  “Invite him to go to the movies!”

A few tears slipped from his eyes and his lower lip quivered.  “Right now?”

“No, invite him tomorrow, as a last minute thing.  Let us know what his response is, word for word!”

“I don’t understand…You guys just said…” he whimpered, rubbing his eyes, thoroughly confused and unable to complete a thought even in his head.

“JUST DO IT!” they growled, both girls now standing, towering over him with their hands on their hips, their eyes murderous.

“I’ll do it…”

xoxoxox

It was Saturday morning, bright and sunny, when he was shoved out of bed by his eldest sister.

“Get up!  We have work to do!” she grinned as she eyed him from the other side of the bed.

“I’ve done my chores this week!” he retaliated, rubbing his sore elbow from his fall to the floor as he stood, glaring at her.

“Oh, dear little brother…” she grinned menacingly.  “You can’t go on a date looking like this!  Go wash up and we’ll pick your clothes!”

It was then that he noticed his other two sisters standing outside either side of his open bedroom door, grinning from ear to ear.

“You’re in on this too?!” he grumbled to the eldest, tossing his pillow back on his bed.

“It’s not just a game anymore,” she smiled sweetly as she ruffled Nagisa’s already unruly blonde locks.  “Now go shower!”

“But I haven’t even invited…”

“Now!”

That murderous look appeared in her eyes and he was instantly out of the room.

“Now what will our dear little brother wear?” she giggled menacingly as her sisters joined her, the trio standing in front of their brother’s closet.

xoxoxox

‘They’re so mean!  Even though I’m older now they still pick on me so much…’ he thought with a sigh, stripping down and adjusting the taps in the shower.  ‘I haven’t even invited Rei-chan to the movies yet and they’re already making me get ready at this time of morning?!’

After stepping in and adjusting to the temperature, he fell back in to thought as the water soothed away his apprehension.

‘Why are they so worried about this anyway?  I just like to ruffle his feathers is all…I guess he was like me when I was little, so now I have someone to pick on and do my bidding.’

He then began thinking back to the very first time he laid eyes on Rei.  He was different from the rest with the way he stood away from everyone else; always trying to stay away from attention he didn’t want, trying to stay hidden.  Even with Nagisa around, he still tried to keep unwanted eyes from him, fussing about how much of a scene the blonde was making.

‘But he never yells at me directly.  He always just kind of scolds me in an apologizing way, like he understands that I am who I am but he’s unsure of being part of my world, afraid of being rejected by everyone else around him.  Even so, he’s come a distance from who he used to be.  Or at least who he pretended to be…being an only child must be even more of a burden than being the youngest; so much more is expected of you.’

It was then that he realized a lot about his friend, why he was the way he was but at the same time trying to come out of his shell that he had put himself in to please his parents, sacrificing his happiness for his future.

“Are you almost done?” one of the girls asked from the closed bathroom door after a couple sharp knocks.

“Rinsing the conditioner out now!” he called back as he submerged his head under the running water once more.

“I’m putting your clothes on the sink,” she called back.

He heard the door creak open, a small gust of cold air sneaking around the shower curtain and raising bumps along his skin, and then heard it click shut again.

A few minutes later, after warming himself from the sudden chill, he turned off the water and pushed aside the curtain, quickly grabbing his towel and drying off.

His eyes then fell to the outfit his sisters had picked out for him with a small smile.

‘At least they’re not making me dress up,’ he thought as he eyed one of his ‘normal’ T-shirts and jeans.  They had even picked out his underwear, a necklace, and a couple random colored rubber bracelets to finish the ensemble.

“Perfect!” one of the sisters cooed as they examined him from head to toe after he emerged from the bathroom some minutes later, feeling awake and refreshed.

“I still don’t understand,” he mumbled as one of them fussed over a cow lick, trying to get it to lie down.  “I haven’t even invited him out yet and you’re getting me ready for a possible turn down.”

The middle sister shook her head.  “Nagisa…when will you ever learn?”  She then produced his cell phone, to which he yelped and snatched it away from her, holding it protectively to his chest, looking completely betrayed.  “You’re meeting at your usual meet up spot at 5 p.m.  The movie starts at 5:30.  You have three hours before you have to leave, so relax for a bit!”

“Three hours?” he then glanced to his phone and couldn’t believe how late he had slept in today.  “Why are you guys doing all this anyway?”

“Because,” the eldest began, giggling with the other two sisters as the one fussing with his hair donned a couple bobby pins to settle the unruly lock of hair, “it’s our new game!”


	2. Chapter 2

Just a Game

Nagisa sighed, relaxing fully into the couch and tried his best to stay awake, the TV on in the background with nothing on to watch and his sisters had all skittered off to either do homework with friends or go shopping.  His parents were at work, so he had the house all to himself.

As the time neared that he would have to leave, nervousness began to grow in his stomach until he was almost to the point of grinding his teeth.

All sorts of ‘what if’s were now racing thru his mind as he sat up and slouched over, staring at the slightly faded and worn carpet of the family room.

‘Just act like it’s another day!’ he chided himself.  ‘Don’t treat it like a date; it will only make things awkward!’

He finally stood after checking the time, turning off the TV and tossing the remote onto the couch hap hazardously as he turned to leave the room.

Nagisa couldn’t stop the slight growl/whine that escaped his lips as he attempted for the fifth time to tie his left shoe, his hands shaking against his will as his stomach began to do flips.

“Finally!” he cried in exasperation as he finally succeeded in tying both shoes and headed out the door.  He was now running a few minutes behind and didn’t want to explain to Rei the real reason why.

His legs felt like lead, his head felt light, and his stomach was feeling tenser than earlier as he neared the meet up point, noticing a familiar figure standing beside a telephone pole.

Usually, he would start sprinting to his friend, waving and yelling like an excited little kid, but he couldn’t bring himself to do any of that as he continued his slow and normal pace to stand before his friend.

“Sorry I’m late,” Nagisa offered, his hands jammed in his pants pockets as he rocked on his heels, his eyes focused to the ground as a small smile played on his lips.

“This is early for you,” Rei offered with his own small smile, as Nagisa was usually even late in the mornings when they met to head to school.  “Shall we?”

The blonde nodded and fell in to step beside Rei, his heart racing as his hand brushed his friend’s as they walked.

‘I need to say something,’ Nagisa thought as Rei glanced at him from the corner of his eye.  ‘He’ll know something’s wrong if I don’t act normal.’

“What movie did you want to see?  I heard there are a couple good ones playing right now.”

“I haven’t been watching TV lately, so I don’t know what’s currently playing,” Rei responded as he was now looking down at his companion, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

“What’s that look for?” Nagisa countered, his head cocked slightly to one side as he smiled self-consciously.

“It’s just…you’re…”  Rei suddenly silenced, shaking his head slightly as he adjusted his glasses in his typical manner, smiling to himself.  “Did you have a particular movie in mind?”

“My sisters suggested a couple.  Guess we’ll pick when we get there then, huh?” he smiled, feeling a bit more at ease as he laced his fingers together behind his head.

A semi-comfortable silence fell between them, Nagisa not being able to think of a single thing to say.  Thankfully, his attention was drawn away from this as his phone vibrated in his pants pocket.

_‘After the movie, or just before it’s over, ask him if he wants to go grab a bite to eat at a fast food place.  If he says no or seems uncomfortable, back off.  Don’t push him into it.’_

_‘And if he says yes?’_

_‘Use your brain, little brother!  That means he wants to spend time with you!  Get to know him more!’_

“Nagisa!” Rei yelped, grabbing the shorter teen’s sleeve and yanking him to his chest.  “Please watch where you’re going!” he sighed in relief as he released his friend who had nearly walked into oncoming traffic.

As realization dawned as to what was happening around him, Nagisa’s eyes grew wide and his heart pounded in his chest.  Had Rei not caught him, he would’ve definitely been run over.

“Thanks, Rei-chan,” he breathed shakily as he pocketed his phone, the fingers of his left hand lacing in Rei’s shirt sleeve like a scared little child with its parent as he fell a step behind the taller teen.

“Are you sure you’re okay?  You’ve been kind of spacy since we met…”

“I’m fine,” he smiled reassuringly, though Rei could see right thru it.

“Nagisa…” he smiled sweetly as he gently removed the blonde’s hand from his clothing, taking his hand in his own gently as they continued on.  “Stay close; I don’t want you wandering into traffic again.”

Nagisa’s face erupted to a lovely shade of red as he averted his eyes to the sidewalk.

“Yeah, try explaining how I died to Mako-chan and Haru-chan!” he chuckled.

“Sorry Haruka-senpai, Makoto-senpai.  While out on a date with Nagisa I was being negligent and let him walk into oncoming traffic,” he said, laughing softly as his hand tightened fractionally around Nagisa’s.

Nagisa suddenly felt entirely too warm in his clothes as a heat wave shot thru his being at Rei’s words.  ‘He actually called this a date!’

Now that that little detail was out of the way, Nagisa was a ball of smiles and energy again, though his stomach was still uneasy.

“I knew something was bugging you,” Rei chuckled as he looked to the flushed teen beside him.

“It was actually all my sisters’ idea,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand.  “They were the ones that messaged you this afternoon and then deleted everything, so I didn’t know if this was going to be a date date or just hanging out…”

“Nagisa,” Rei called in a neutral tone, halting in his walk and thusly stopping the blonde as well, those pink lemonade colored eyes on him, though now his friend seemed suddenly nervous and uneasy.  “Don’t look at me like that!” he pleaded, smiling around his own nervousness.  “I just wanted to say that if you want this to be just a hang out night, that’s fine.  But if you want it to be a date, I’m fine with that too.  Don’t let your sisters decide for you what tonight is.”

The blonde nodded, his smile returning.  “So you admit that you might just like me a little?”

It was now Rei’s turn to blush as he once more adjusted his glasses, his feet moving again and pulling an evilly grinning Nagisa along.

“Rei-chan~!” he cooed in a sing-song voice, giggling as he began swinging their laced hands back and forth a bit higher between them.  “Are you admitting it?”

“You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?” Rei groaned in embarrassment and as he glanced to Nagisa.

“Before the night is over, yes, you’re going to say it!”

Rei knew he was doomed for opening his mouth, but it had to be brought out in the open about this being a potential date or Nagisa would be a nervous and awkward mess all night long.

“Say, Nagisa, do you mind if we stop by the mall on the way home?  I need to stop by the book store; my book finally arrived today.”

“If it means more time with Rei-chan, I don’t mind!” he beamed as he opened the door to the theater for Rei with a slight bow before pouncing and latching both arms around a slightly off balanced Rei’s right arm.  “Oh~!  How about that one?” he gasped in slight awe as he looked over the movie posters.

Rei eyed the posters and times, deciding that this one looked the most appealing of the movies, though it was a horror movie.  Leave it to Nagisa to pick something scary.

The blonde grinned as he bound over to the ticket counter no sooner than Rei agreed to this particular movie.  Rei followed a bit more slowly, pulling his wallet out.

“Here, Rei-chan!” Nagisa grinned as he handed Rei a ticket only moments before he reached the counter.

“You didn’t have to pay…”

Nagisa waved him off as they headed to the concession stand.  “Since ‘I’ invited you out, I’ll pay for the movie!” he said, air quoting since it was, in fact, his sisters and not him at all.

“Then let me get the snacks,” Rei rebutted, frowning slightly, having planned to pay for himself or both of them from the start.

“Sounds fair enough.  Then popcorn and a drink?  I’ll go find us some seats!” he smiled as their eyes locked for a moment, Rei returning the sentiment before Nagisa skipped off.


	3. Chapter 3

Just a Game

It was semi-crowded in the theater, Nagisa noted as he stood on one side of the room, looking around for the perfect seats.

A few of his fellow classmates were there near the front and was waving him over.

“You can sit with us, Hazuki-kun,” one of the girls giggled, another girl glancing around her to Nagisa as their three male companions continued to chat amongst themselves; they had at least acknowledged him with a nod or wave.

“Thanks, but I’m on a date,” he grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as the girls then looked to each other, somewhat shocked and confused.

“With who?  We didn’t know you liked anyone, Hazuki-kun.”

It was then that one of the boys glanced up and noticed another familiar face.

“Ryugazaki-kun!”

The girls’ attention immediately shifted over to him, as did a slightly blushing Nagisa’s.  “You can sit with us if you want!  Hazuki-kun won’t because he’s on a date,” the first girl grinned slyly, Rei’s eyes now glancing around nervously since he couldn’t adjust his glasses with his arms being occupied with popcorn and a soda.

He was at a loss as to what to tell her, embarrassed to admit that he was, in fact, Nagisa’s mystery date.  Thankfully, Nagisa picked up on his friend’s body language.

The blonde then turned his attention fully to Rei, smiling sweetly as he took the huge drink cup between his hands.  “Let’s sit up there,” he suggested with a tilt of his head.

The girls looked to each other as if to make sure they were on the same page and drawing the same conclusion as the two awkward and blushing teens found their way several rows up.

Once they shuffled thru a few people to their seats, Nagisa noticed Rei was frowning slightly and began prodding him for answers.

“I just don’t want rumors starting at school…” Rei mumbled, not looking at his friend but into the tub of popcorn and at Nagisa’s hand that was already scooping up some of the fluffy, buttery kernels.

“But it wouldn’t be a rumor…” the blonde hummed in thought before popping a few more pieces of popcorn into his mouth.  “Would you rather me have lied to them then?  I thought this night was what we wanted it to be, not what others want it to…”

Rei then finally glanced to his companion, swallowing his pride.  “You’re right.  Sorry, Nagisa-kun.  I just…”

“This is my first time with someone like this too…” Nagisa smiled sincerely at the floor, his fingers laced together tightly on his lap.  “I’m so nervous I feel like I might explode.”

Rei watched him for a moment before he turned his attention back to the popcorn tub.  “I am too,” he admitted, adjusting his glasses as he then looked sidelong at Nagisa.  “Even though we spend a lot of time together and you’re…” he swallowed with some difficulty as Nagisa’s eyes were now on him with a serious face.  “You’re always touching me like it’s the most natural thing.”

Nagisa’s face exploded into a flush just as the house lights dimmed.

“Just because we agreed this is a date,” Rei then whispered in Nagisa’s ear, “doesn’t mean that something natural has to be awkward.”

Nagisa could swear he would burst into flame anytime from overheating, but who could blame him?

Despite his embarrassment, Nagisa ducked his head and smiled quite possibly as big as he could to himself, his body giddy all of a sudden.

The previews began playing and Nagisa’s hand once more found its way into the tub of popcorn as his mind shifted into the storylines of the new movies about to be released, his eyes wide and in awe at some of them as he placed a slightly buttery and salty hand on Rei’s wrist and bounced excitedly in his chair as his gaze switched between the movie screen and Rei.

However, once his eyes met Rei’s, his face heated up once more as his companion was gazing back at him with something in his lilac eyes as a small, awkward smile graced his lips.  He was lost once more.

“Sorry, Rei-chan,” he murmured as he slowly removed his hand, watching it as he moved it almost as if it were a foreign object.

No sooner than Nagisa’s hand was free of Rei’s skin, the taller male reached up and grasped the slightly paler hand in his own, lowering it to the armrest between them, that look still in his eyes.  “Nagisa…Don’t fight your nature.  It’s cute to see you so flustered, but I think the way you act naturally is beautiful.”

“S-stop saying such sappy things,” the blonde mumbled as he leaned his heated face into Rei’s shoulder, grinning stupidly from ear to ear.

“Then be you,” Rei chuckled, watching the embarrassed teen for a few moments before Nagisa finally titled his head just enough to glance up to Rei before they both turned their attention back to the movie, the opening credits just beginning as Rei laced their fingers together.

Already there were sounds and indications of impending doom on the huge screen, Naigsa sitting upright and forward in his chair while his eyes grew as he became engrossed in his new surroundings.  Rei also noticed how his fingers had slightly tightened around his own as he became absorbed in the movie.

As the movie went on into the hours of the evening, Nagisa had screamed out loud at least three times with the general audience and closed his eyes at least twice as many, though he would never openly admit that the movie was almost too scary for him.  But Rei noticed.  He himself had gasped out loud once and winced at certain scenes from time to time.

As the house lights came back on, Rei couldn’t help but chuckle into his free hand as Nagisa’s eyes fell on him, almost accusingly.

“What’s so funny, Rei-chan?”

“You,” he smiled, removing his hand from his mouth before gently cupping Nagisa’s cheek, his thumb moving slightly against the corner of his mouth while that look had returned to his eyes.  “You had a piece of popcorn there for a while.”

However, after the offending piece of neglected deliciousness was removed from the blonde’s face, his hand lingered for a few extra seconds, Nagisa’s other hand coming up and gently covering it as he leaned into the warmth, lost in that look that he couldn’t quite place.

Unknowingly, the space between the two had diminished by several inches with a mere breath nearly between them as their heads titled slightly and their eyes began to slip closed.

That is until Nagisa’s eyes snapped wide open and his head jerked back in surprise; the girl that had invited them to sit with their group and her girlfriend were just leaving the theater when they spotted their classmates in such an intimate scene and couldn’t help but giggle like girls do.

Rei heard them over his shoulder, but simply ignored them, a scowl on his face as he sat back in his seat and adjusted his glasses, disappointment pouring from his very being, though, naturally, Nagisa was oblivious.

“You said we’re swinging by the bookstore, right?” the blonde smiled as best he could, still embarrassed and slightly flustered that he had nearly kissed Rei without a second thought on their first date.

“If that’s alright, that is.  If you don’t want to…”

“I don’t mind!  I was just wondering if after that…” he trailed off as they stood and joined the crowd to the exit.

“After that…?” Rei coaxed from the nervous and slightly trailing behind him teen.

“If you wanted to grab something to eat…”

“I know the perfect place,” Rei smiled as they once more stepped out into the slight breeze that had been blowing nicely all day as they fell in step beside each other and headed towards the bookstore.  “I think it will suit your tastes perfectly.”

Rei knew Nagisa _loved_ to eat just about anything, but there were times when they were all together that he noticed how Nagisa’s eyes would light up at seeing and eating certain types of foods.  And this place was right up his alley for releasing that expression over and over again, Rei was certain of it.

As they neared the store, Nagisa managed to silently slip out his cell phone and sent a message to his eldest sister.

‘Dinner is a go!’


End file.
